October 3, 2005: For Immediate Release
Blacksburg, VA - VTLS Inc. announced today that Oxford University Library Services has chosen VIRTUA as the preferred library management system for the University of Oxford and its member libraries.
The University of Oxford is a unique and historic institution. As the oldest English-speaking University in the world, it can lay claim to nine centuries of continuous existence. The University has extremely rich and diverse library collections provided by over one hundred libraries.
The new library management system is being commissioned by Oxford University Library Services (OULS), which is the largest university library service in the UK, and one of the largest in the world. OULS employs approximately 700 staff. Most of the University's library facilities are managed under the umbrella of OULS including the Bodleian Library, which has been a library of legal deposit for almost 400 years.
Oxford signed a contract with VTLS Inc. for eight subsystems: Acquisitions, Cataloguing, OPAC, Non-Roman scripts, Circulation, Serials, Automated Stack Request, and InfoStation. Additional subsystems, such as an interface with a depository warehouse management system, an Inter-library loan subsystem and the incorporation of allegro CJK catalogues will also be implemented.
There are approximately fifteen million items held within the libraries at Oxford, including one million maps, one million musical scores and 1.5 million manuscripts. The system will initially be used to manage 5.4 million bibliographic records associated with 8.7 million items. VTLS will carry out customized development of the system to support an average of c. 9,000 closed-stack delivery requests per week.
The Oxford LMS Steering Group responsible for the procurement believes that Virtua is a scalable and forward-looking system and that the proposals submitted by VTLS Inc. to further enhance their product at Oxford address the University's unique and complex needs. "The University of Oxford conducted a comprehensive and rigorous procurement process. After examining the seven tendered systems in great detail, the University chose Virtua. The system is an exciting product that offers great potential and we look forward to the prospect of developing creative library solutions together in the future," said Mr. Ronald Milne, Acting Director of Oxford University Library Services and Bodley's Librarian (Chairman of the LMS Steering Group).
"We are humbled by the confidence that Oxford University has placed in us. Everyone at VTLS is excited at this wonderful opportunity to work with one of the most prestigious libraries in the world. We are secure in the knowledge that our products and services will meet the highest expectations of Oxford," said Vinod Chachra, CEO of VTLS Inc.
VTLS Inc. (www.vtls.com) is a leading global company that creates and provides visionary technology in library solutions. We have three distinct divisions that serve a diverse customer base of more than 900 libraries in over 35 countries. Our VIRTUA division remains focused on ILS solutions. Our VTRAX division focuses on RFID technologies through a partnership with Tagsys and FKI Logistex. Our Digital Asset Creation & Management division provides cutting edge software and services for Digital Libraries. VTLS is also one of the few ISO 9001 quality certified companies within the library industry.